After a decade on the run, alleged drug kingpin Robert Gordon Pollybank Gee has been extradited back to Adelaide

An alleged drug kingpin is back behind bars in Adelaide after a decade on the run in Asia – he was allowed to go overseas with just a $10,000 bail surety.

After a decade on the run, Robert Gordon Pollybank Gee is back behind bars in South Australia.

After almost a decade on the run, one of South Australia’s most wanted fugitives is back behind bars in Adelaide

Robert Gordon Pollybank Gee, 62, is accused of being a drug kingpin responsible for a multimillion-dollar drug syndicate trafficking in cocaine and amphetamines.

In 2011, shortly before he was to face trial on 11 charges related to a 2006 drug seizure, Gee went on the run.

His bail had been varied to allow him to travel overseas and Gee had returned from trips to Fiji and Indonesia without incident

But in 2011 he disappeared in Thailand, reportedly after becoming aware that one of his co-accused had provided information to police.

After five years on the run, Gee was arrested at a bar on the resort island of Phuket in September 2016.

He was in possession of a fake Canadian passport in the name of Roy Greyeyes.

A 2016 wanted poster for Gee.

Robert Gordon Pollybank Gee spent years in jail in Thailand before his extradition.

After his arrest, Thailand authorities alleged Gee had dodged immigration checkpoints and had snuck into the country in 2011 before basing himself in Phuket in 2013.

Since his arrest, Gee has remained in custody in Thailand where he was convicted of possessing the forged passport.

Gee appealed the conviction earlier this year but was told he would be extradited within 60 days of the case being finalised.

In what was considered a blow to attempts to extradite Gee, he was sentenced to eight years in prison for possessing the fake passport.

In early December, three South Australian detectives flew to Thailand to bring Gee back to Adelaide.

The group arrived back in Adelaide on December 11 on a commercial flight.

In 2006 raids at Elizabeth South and Plympton, police allegedly found large quantities of drugs ...

... as well as $260,000 in buried cash ...

... and firearms. Police said the drug ring was linked to SA bikie gangs.

The three detectives entered into quarantine at a medi-hotel while Gee has been serving his isolation period in prison.

At this time, Gee has not been charged with any additional offences for skipping bail.

A police spokeswoman said the operation to retrieve Gee from Thailand had been “meticulously planned” to ensure it was conducted safely and without exposing the officers to the risk of COVID infection.

On December 14, Gee appeared before District Court Judge Paul Muscat on a bench warrant and was remanded in custody to his next hearing in January.

Gee was arrested as part of Operation Crunch, which targeted a national drug syndicate based out of Adelaide.

In June 2006, police officers raided properties in Elizabeth South and Plympton and seized guns, 8300 LSD tablets, 8kg of cannabis, more than 7kg of amphetamine and 6200 ecstasy tablets.

About $260,000 was also found hidden in the garden of one of the properties.

At the time, senior police said the syndicate had links to bikie groups and had been operating a drug racket between Adelaide and the eastern states “for a long time”.

Gee and three co-accused were arrested over the find.

Gee, who was alleged to have been the mastermind behind the haul, was released on a $10,000 bail cash surety.